Member Reviews
A Weaver is a storyteller. A writer whose very being is driven by the stories they have to tell. But unlike normal authors, writing for a Weaver is a dangerous occupation.
Laney is a freshman and she writes books. One day something happens and she's certain that she came across to a guy that was a creation of her imagination and the antagonist of the book she's currently writing. As time passes, she meets new people and she gathers information about the whole thing and we follow her in this adventure of fiction mixing reality.
I'm feeling very conflicted about my rating. But the majority of this book was a struggle for me and less enjoyment therefore I'll follow my initial insticts and be honest about it, even if it seems unfair or even mean. Now let me explain..
A Weaver has the ability to make her creations come to life, not just on the page, but in this world. Picture your worst nightmares stalking you at night, or your hero coming to resque you.
I was very excited about this book's premise. A heroine who is a writer and somehow brings her characters to real life. I was like whoah, I need to read this, this sounds amazing! Plus the cover is gorgeous, definitely a nice book to have on your collection. However, the book fell flat to its promise and I was bummed not only by the plot development or its characters, but also by the writing. It seemed very juvenile & immature to the point I went to look if the author of this book was indeed a teen or even younger. No offence of course to the author, but it made me genuinely curious.
When the book started I thought 'Wow action from the beginning, I love that!' , but like before it came to the 30% of the book I was bored. I didn't care about the characters and the only thing that was holding me from DNFing this book , was my curiosity for the plot and how things would be developed. As I mentioned the writing made me frustrated and my head was in serious pain..
My favorite character was her best friend and I didn't like how his image was painted, because one moment he was something and the next he was something else and one moment we would get the idea of her being interested in him, but on the next moment he would admit his feelings and she would be like ... no. So some things didn't make any sense to me. And yes at some point I just lost it and I was done with this book, but I'm not a quitter and I finished it. I'm sorry, but I feel like it had so much promise, but it didn't give me what it promised and that's just my opinion. I wish I had enjoyed it more than I did, maybe I'd be interested to continue with the series, but at this point I highly doubt that.
“What's a Weaver, exactly?”
Delaney Holden is a Weaver. She just doesn’t know it yet. She is a freshman in Madison College, writes historical fiction in her free time. She meets her childhood friend again after some time. So life seems to be nice. But everything changes when one day she sees someone who isn’t supposed to be real. She is shoved down the stairs at a subway station by the antagonist of her book. And if that is not enough, another character shows up. William, the love of her book’s protagonist. Her life turns quickly upside down because Jonas, the antagonist is wiling to do anything to make Laney write an ending which is to his liking.
I pretty much loved the premise of this book. I’ve read books with similar premises but nothing quite like The Weaver.
The characters are well-developed, they have motive behind their actions. The connection between Laney and William made me smile and a little jealous too.
There is one thing though that needs some explaining. How does all this work? How does the characters come out of the story?
The Weaver is highly recommended. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
It starts off fast-paced and throws us into the world. I love the action and the uniqueness of the story.
I struggled with this book, struggled to start the book and had a hard time keeping up with it. Im sure it's good for the right person but unfortunately that wasn't me.
Thank you for the opportunity to read it!
When I saw this book on Netgalley, I requested it without any hesitation. Everything about this book seems like a dream come true to every reader. Also, I'm an aspiring author so the idea of Weavers is so fascinating. This book has the most interesting premise so I was so excited to dive in to the story.
Sadly, I was disappointed. The story has a lot of potential but it felt lacking in every way. The characters are not really likeable, and I even dislike Laney most of the times. I didn't connect to any of the characters even a bit. The writing is also a bit juvenile for me. Maybe it's just me so forgive me for this. Maybe the writing style is just not for me. But I didn't feel any suspense or care for the flow of the story and that only happens when the writing is not for me. It's also filled with all the tropes YA can ever have. It's the first reason I wanted to DNF this book. But really, I don't mind cliches as long as they were right and there's a bit of 'new' approach to the cliche element but there's none.
This book made me want to DNF it more than a few times. Thankfully it's an ARC so I felt the need to finish it so I can give it a proper review. Though, apologies for this short review. I initially wanted to post a review on my blog but then I have this new personal rule in my blog that I will only post books that I REALLY like, meaning the books I want to promote and I want my friends to know about. This book, sadly, didn't fall into that category.
This was a super fun little book I really enjoyed. I like the concept. It's very Inkheart, which I love as well.
Theme of this book is amazing. I mean, the plot is basically about girl, who can make her own story characters alive. How cool is that? Sadly, this book wasn't as good as I expected. Characters are good, I especially fell in love with William. His personality is amazing!
And, writing is great. I finished this book after a few hours, so it's definitely gripping. But one thing really dissapointed me - predictability. Literally everything in this book didn't surprise me at all. Including ending. So hopefully, next part of this series will be better.
**Thank you to The Parliament House, Netgalley, and Heather Kindt for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**
The Weaver starts a new trilogy that will be similar to the Inkheart series, but for a bit of an older crowd. The MC Laney is in college writing her novel about a couple in eighteenth century America. When the villain from her book attempts to rob and murder her, she starts to think there is more to her story than meets the eye. In comes the love interest of the main character in her book as a fellow student - and she can't help but fall for him. She falls into the world of Weaving, the gift few people have to bring their stories to life. However, this is very dangerous as the characters who come to life look to change their endings, by any means necessary.
I think The Weaver was a decent book that managed to be different enough from Inkheart to keep it interesting. Laney as the main character and storyteller was good, but some of the other characters leave much to be desired. Her middle school crush, Jason, who can't decide if he loves her or not comes off as very flaky and rude - he also doesn't seem to have enough impact on the story (outside of one major event). It's almost like his character was superfluous. There were other plot points I felt like could have been rounded out, like the group of Weavers she meets to try and figure out what is happening. They just pop into the story and are never talked about again until the end.
Outside of these issues, I really enjoyed reading The Weaver and would like to see how the story continues to unfold. The ending was surprising, with a twist that I did not see coming - which always adds into any book's appeal for me. I want to know what Laney does after that ending and how her story will continue.
If you were a fan of the Inkheart series, go check out The Weaver, a new fantasy novel where your imagination quite literally comes to life, and tries to kill you!
This book was just not for me. It was some strange combination of a coming of age story, a mystery, a fantasy, and a romance.
The characters were extremely one dimensional. The typical boring nondescript brown haired clumsy girl with no real description that any female reader can imagine herself as, cause shes not like other girls. Of course, all the male characters think shes the most beautifully exotic creature in the universe. There are two perfect young men who are obsessively in love with this girl.
The magic system is far too unbelievable to be so easily accepted by all the characters.
The main romance is so absurd I was nearly angry. Our protagonist wanted a love like Romeo and Juliet. I'm not sure what Shakespeare play this ENGLISH MAJOR read but last time I checked Romeo and Juliet is the story of an 18 year old and 13 year old in which they meet, fall in love, get married, and commit suicide in 36 hours. THAT IS NOT A LOVE STORY YOU WANT TO MIMIC IN A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP.
There are also many times plot holes or inconsistencies are blown off as something obvious or easy to explain. These explanations are never obvious. For example (minor spoilers), at the beginning of the book the protagonist is pushed down the stairs by a man stealing her bag. This man is the main villain of the story and willing and capable of murdering many people. He also wants something in this bag REALLY bad. But, after he pushes her down the stairs, he freezes and drops the bag. Hes also, in this stupidly short amount of time, managed to put a note in her bag that he just tried to steal. If you're stealing something why put a note. If you're trying to leave a threatening note why steal the bag. The protagonist thinks this is completely normal. Confused? me too.
If you're a shy teenager looking to read a basic love story where you can easily imagine yourself falling in love with jock, or maybe you want a quick read with a very basic love story, then this might be the read for you but it was not meant for a reader like me.
This book is about a girl named Laney who loves to write. She soon realizes the characters she's writing are coming to life. I was really excited to read this because it sounds so awesome. The story I read, however, was really awkward. The writing just didn't work for me. I felt detached from the characters and the story. I'm pretty bummed bc it sounded so awesome.
This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own
If have written, have you ever wondered what it’d be like if your characters were actually real? Would you like being around them?
THE WEAVER is the first installment of The Weaver trilogy. It is an NA paranormal romance set in a small town on the north shore of Boston.
Heather Kindt has written a stunning immersive and engaging book beautifully written, easy to read and really draws you in and makes you forget reality.
A book that is wonderfully creative in a way that is blended with the modern day and intriguing historical to make a compelling storyline.
Delaney Holden is a freshman in college, a lover of history, and has started writing her own journal of historical romance. When the unimaginable happens and her her journal jaunts become real. Great well developed characters in The Weaver, that are well defined. They each have a clear personality that readers can connect with and can attach emotionally with. This is fast paced historical, contemporary, book with the perfect amount of magical realism.
I was thoroughly enjoyed The Weaver and would recommend it to anyone looking for a unique historical paranormal with the perfect amount of a slow-burn romance.
Described by other reviewers as Inkheart-meets-Ruby Sparks, this was a charming, beautifully written fantasy with swoon-worthy romance and charming characters. Our main character Laney is immature, naive, and unrefined, but I find these flaws charming and relatable, and they added well to the story. The plot, wherein the characters have minds of their own, was intriguing and a fun concept to read. However, the romance felt rushed and dull, and I found the plot more interesting in concept than reality. All-in-all, a fun read. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
I DNF'd this around the halfway mark. I couldn't connect to the characters 1t all! Laney had such a "not like the other girls" problem and it drove me mad. The story moved weirdly, which made reading it very hard... I had hoped for a new favorite like inkheart, but i didnt get that sadly
The concept for this story was so good, but the main character was just not. I think the overall story wasn’t terrible but the pacing and execution really need work. For instance, she gets attacked by the bad guy from her book (that’s in the summary no spoilers) and she just accepts that her characters come to life, doesn’t struggle with the possibility.
Also, Laney is just so annoying. She leads Jason on hard core and acts like she didn’t. Then she constantly puts herself in harms way knowing she has a weird stalker. She has a cell phone and never uses it.
Laney’s dad is obnoxiously over protective and she just let’s him be. She’s away at college and is treated like a high school freshman. William was a good character.
If there is a second book I’ll probably read it because like I said the story was good.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
3.5 Stars. The Weaver is an easy fluff read about a college student who discovers she has magical abilities.
What did I like?
1. The blend of a modern day and a historical storyline.
2. Easy/fluff read. Sometimes they’re a great thing
3. It’s a college student instead of a high school student. It seems like nearly every YA book author thinks they have to focus on the high school age group. They don’t.
What did I dislike?
1. Unfortunately there was zero character development which was really disappointing. I feel like none of the characters reached their full potential.
2. Because of the above reason, the characters (and the story?) stayed a bit stagnant.
3. Predictable. I pretty much knew what was going to happen way before it did.
4. A bit cliché.
Would I buy the next book in the series? Think so, but I would place others above it.
The premise for The Weaver drew me in. I love writers confronted by their characters coming to life. It’s one of my favorite tropes. But this book was burned by too much unnecessary exposition about what everyone was thinking and feeling, which made it difficult to read. I couldn’t get swept up in the tension of the story when there were long digressions to overexplain someone’s emotions or give unnecessary backstory.
DNF at about page 34 -- I'm so sorry. It's so painfully boring and you can't get a few pages without little Miss Im NoT lIkE oThEr GiRls shaming another girl for doing something as simple as being a girl. Seriously, the internalized misogyny is just so overwhelming I was angry. Like, at least try to hide just a little bit that you hate other women. It sounds like it was written by a man because I expect a man to say some bullshit like, 'ShE dIDnT cOmE hErE tO gEt HeR MRS." Shut the fuck up you abominable pick me bitch twat.
It was a great concept. I was really excited. The idea was there, but how it was executed was so poorly done I just have no words. You know how Game of Thrones is slow paced and not a lot of people can get through it? Yeah, I'm one of those people and I don't mind slow paced things, but this was unbearably excruciatingly boring and so awfully executed that I couldn't do it anymore. I made it through maybe the first six chapters of GOT in the first day. I didn't make it five pages without just needing to do something other than this because I had better things to do, ya know. It felt like a task to read this book.
The writing was decent. The author knows how to use similes and metaphors and can create a truly beautiful sentence that flows nicely, but you can't start a fantasy book like this. It started out by dropping hints of what homegirl (Laney) was doing and how she's writing a story (ha, a story within a story. Literally.) and like how things from this story are coming to life (just a character is all) and then it was just dropped and stated at the end of the first chapter she's like bringing things to reality. That's so boring. We could've figured that out on our own from better story telling and events. There are feelings of minor shock in her I guess, but I couldn't feel it. It should have been that we wait until we are at least a full quarter into the book and a main catastrophic event happens or a series of things that are happening and fully affect her, instead of seeing a character she knows she invented who tried to steal her book and she bonks her fucking head and from there is like, omg, I brought character to life. It's just so weird how our MC just like, accepted that she was bringing her story to life. Like, at least try to make this a bigger deal
I don't even want to comment on that one guy from her story within the story who is like a patriot and how it takes place in the 1700s and 'thats their home', like you didn't slaughter entire Native American colonies bigger than your arriving population and commit mass genocide to make that place your home. But k. Continue I guess.
Our characters were boring.
Jason's a twat. Seriously, if you're thinking about being with someone else while being in a relationship as is, you shouldn't be in a relationship.
Laney is a pick me bitch. She is not like other girls and is quirky and different. She basically hates women lol. If this were 2007 maybe that could fly with her being quirky, different, and not like other girls, but this is 2019. Get it together and grow the fuck up. We don't pit women against one another and we surely don't shame them for being girly anymore. The same way people had to learn that this is not 1952 anymore; the only thing that makes you better than another woman in this day and age is not being cunt who wants to shame girls at every twist and turn because they're jealous of them. Lmfaooooo this is 2019. Are you serious? Some of you really can't grasp this isn't the fucking 50's or however old and outdated you are. Laney probably looks like every other white girl you see walking down the street who thinks they deserve a modelling contract with Ford or IMG because they're <b>simply not ugly</b> and dOeSnT wEaR mAkeUp. Makeup is a talent and an art skill. I wish I had the talent to do those pretty looks girls do all over twitter and youtube, but I'm still learning what foundation I need to use, but I'll. get there. Laney is fully insufferable. Like just say you're intimidated by other girls and project that insecurity as thinking you're somehow better by putting them down.
I'm in the middle of moving so I just might try and finish this book and I'll see if my opinion changes or if I can further trash this book.
The Weaver was a clever concept that drew me in even though this isn't my go to genre. Kindt executed her vision well and I hope to see more of these characters in the future.
I was really hopeful for this story but I feel disappointed with the lost potential. The characters seem to be written at a 7th grade maturity level and the story bobbed and weaved all over the place. There wasn’t enough world building about Weavers and all that came with it. Series or not, I also hate cliffhangers.
I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Weaver by Heather Kindt, a fun quick read. Delaney is a weaver and doesn't know it, she writes compelling books, where certain characters can come to life, an antagonist to destroy and a guardian to protect. Which will save her or destroy her is up to her.